It has been my hypothesis of late that the rapid development and adoption of new technologies is exposing our anemic ecclesiologies and misguided understanding of the role and nature of the proclomation of the Word.  Until evangelicals properly articulate why the Church gathers and hear’s the Word of God, and then shapes its churches accordingly, we will continue to be co-opted by technologism. (source)

My friend, Robert, jumps into this conversation and draws a limited, but no less apt, analogy between pornography and listening to John Piper online.

Here’s the somewhat scandalous analogy that came to my mind (yet also seems to support your point, which I agree with): there is an aspect to online preaching replacing local (average) preaching that is almost pornographic. I’m not trying to say that Piper or Desiring God are prostituting his teaching… rather it is the idea of turning to a “perfect preacher” out there rather than submitting to God’s Word proclaimed and lived out in the context of the normal, everyday local church. The beauty of marriage to a real, everyday woman is exactly that: the ins and outs of loving and living with an imperfect person. If, more and more, I turn to video preachers, I give up much in terms of community, accountability, and the back/forth of submitting to and growing with a local preacher.

The analogy surely gives out at some point because I do think there is value in listening to Piper, et al. periodically or even frequently, but not as a substitute for a local community of faith and preacher (and I can’t think of how that observation parallels marriage). Nonetheless, I think the partial analogy is somewhat helpful. (read the conversation)